The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1887-08-11
''branch land" Il Ii fertile and the


land possesses many if not all the adj
Vantages of bottom lands without dan
ger from overflow. The ridge land is
peculiar y susceptible of fertilization.
The surface Of the county generally is
undulating and the soil is well drained.
No part of the county of significant ex-
tent but what is well adapted TO cult
vation. and no country is better watered
and the waters are pure and sparkling.
1he water power of the county is unsur
passed We venture the assertion that
no territory of similar extent can be
found with more water-ml II facilities
and same population with so many wa
ter-mills in actual operation.
Products.
The products of the county are cot
ton, corn, pOtatoes-sweet and Irish -
rice, oats, millet, grasses, sorghum.
sugar cane. tobacco, jute, indigo, and
almost the entire catalogue of garden
vegetables, and all kinis of fruits and
numerous varieties of the grape To-
bacco, jute and indigo are cultivated,
but to limited extent. and yet sutli-
ciently to demonstrate that their culture
would be profitable. Lincoln county,
through the enterprise of ono of its
most intelligent farmers, Mr.. C. Men
eles, has the honor of being the pioneer
county OF the State, if not of the
Union, in jute culture. This gen
tleman has also demonstrated that
the tea plant and white mulberry can
be successfully grown here An in,pec.
ton of his vineyards and those of Mr.
+. Parsons, at Montgomery Station,
would satisfy the most skeptical that
this is grape growing section. Straw
berries can nowhere be raised more sue
cessfully, while bla kberries-a splen-
did fruit-grow wild in abundance.
Our home raised tobacco is most ex-
ceIIent, and it IS astonishing that its
culture is not more general. While
Lincoln is not reckOned as one of the
principal cotton producing counties in
this section of the state, vet the rea> on
is that her farmers have learned that
they can and do promote their indie
pendence by devoting a larger share of
their attention to diversity of crops.
Various grasses grow to perfect on
here, including the celebrated Lcspe-
deza, or Japan clover, which grows
spontaneously, producing from two to
four tons per acre; also white and red
clover. As a stOck-rajsing and dairy
country it has no superior in the world
and many of our people are turning
their attention in this direction.
Timber.
The territory of Lincoln county orig
inally was heavily timbered N all of its
parts. Near y four-ttths of the land is
yet so. The lumber industry of the
county is probably its mot important
interest, there being no less than 23
large saw mills and one large lumber
manufacturing company now in opera
ton, employing on an average 20 hands
each, and turning out millions of feet
Of the finest long-leaf yellow pine lum-
Der annually. The timber of the
county includes not less than fifty va
rieties, the pine, oak, hickory and gum
predominatjng. The following varie
ties Of the finest quality are abundant:
Pine, long and short leaf; white, red,
black, Spanish, and water oaks. early,
late and curly hickory, pecan, maple.
elm, ash, beach, red, black and tupul
gum, persimmon, holly, magnolia, bay,
cherry, sycamore. poplar, willow, iron
wood, etc.
The inhabitants
The people of the county are largely
native, descendants IN great part from
an ancestry who emigrated here from
the Carolinas and Georgia According
to the census of 1880 the foreign-born
population onl v numbered 140 as
against 3,4O7 natives. of whom four
were Indians. The inhabitants are
nearly all an agricultural people. and
they are honest, industrious and hos
p table. They are temperate and
moral. and a large proportion are
church-gong. The Bapt st denomna-
ton of Christians predominates, but
the MethodistS are numerous and pros
porous, besides a gooliy sprinkling of
other religious srcts. No better evil
dence of the sobriety and good morals
of the people could be given than that
they have voted the liquor traffic out of
their territory. They are law-abding
and tolerant, and hearty welcome
will be and is extended to immigrants.
schools.
Fairly good public schools are main
tanned in the county, and these are i'm
proving in grade. At Brookhaven
Whitworth Female College is located,
an institution ranking in size the fourth
in the United States, and in the thor
oughncss and efficiency of its training
surpassed by none.
1t only remains for us to add that
The Health of the County
is most excellent. The character of
tho soil. its altitude, its proximity to
the Gulf of Mexico, from which during
the whole summer it enjoys delight
full breeze, renders the climate the
most salubrious, and is a guarantee
against all malarial diseases. In the